Detroit Pistons vs. Milwaukee Bucks preview: Is it time to panic yet?
By Travis Gibbs
The Detroit Pistons host the Milwaukee Bucks at Little Caesars Arena hoping to end a three-losing streak. The Bucks won two of their first three meetings.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons have lost three straight games by double-digits since returning to action from the All-Star break.
They look to avoid a four-game losing streak when the Milwaukee Bucks come to Little Caesars Arena.
Who’s to blame for this losing streak? Everybody can share a slice of that pie. Nobody has been playing exceptionally well.
Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson have slowed down a lot after having a great stretch of games following the Blake Griffin trade.
Nobody coming off the bench is playing well at all. Luke Kennard is struggling whenever he touches the hardwood.
It seems like Van Gundy has lost the focus of this team. They aren’t playing hard. That’s what it looks like on the surface.
Luckily the Bucks are coming into tonight’s game not playing particularly good basketball. They’ve lost three out of their last four games now.
They fell 107-104 to the Washington Wizards at home in their last game.
The Bucks get a lot of their production from three players. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the center of that group, averaging 27.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
Former Piston Khris Middleton is having his best season as a professional, averaging 20 points a game. Eric Bledsoe is has blended well since coming over from Phoenix before the start of the season as well.
The Bucks have won two out of the three meetings they’ve had with the Pistons this season. Every game has come down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
There are some things to watch with the Pistons tonight.
The rotation will be one thing to keep an eye on. Dwight Buycks got a lot of minutes in their previous game as the back-up point guard instead of Jameer Nelson. He played particularly well too.
How many minutes will he get tonight?
Langston Galloway hasn’t been playing as much of late. With Bullock struggling with his shot in their last few games, Galloway might get some more minutes tonight.
The Detroit Pistons are up against another team worthy of a playoff spot in the eastern conference. The Bucks can score a lot of points with the high-profile players mentioned above.
The Pistons’ defense needs to return to form if they want to leave behind this three-game losing streak. They’ve given up 110+ points in their last three games.
They won’t win if the Bucks score more than 110 points. It’s hard to win in the NBA against any team giving up that many points.
Can Detroit get any production from players not named Blake Griffin or Andre Drummond?
Those will be the keys to victory tonight. Being back at home where the Pistons are 19-13 should help with that.
A win against a good team can help get a lot of momentum back. That is exactly what the Detroit Pistons need right now. Van Gundy needs it as well before his job becomes a bigger question mark.